For Want of a Ship
by The Unreconstructed M
Summary: As soon as Rose and the Meta-Doctor return to London from Bad Wolf Bay, he leaves and isn't seen for four weeks. Where was he? What was he doing? What will Rose do when he comes back?


**A/N - Hey guys! Before you say that telling the story of Rose and the Meta-Doctor has been done upteen-trillion times, think for a second, _how many times have_ I_ w__anted to come up with my own version?_ So this is my version. Part of the reason I'm telling it is because it sets up another story I have in the works, but besides that I just love them together and keep having this story running through my head.**

**So enough chit-chat. Read! Enjoy! Review! Especially that last one there, folks!**

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It was an old-new house, the kind that seems like it should have been built ages ago and yet still looks modern. It sat in the middle of a fairly large plot of land, a wooded area in the back with a long driveway leading over a hill to the road. It had shutters on all the windows, a small porch and a front door, a shingled roof, and through the ivy crawlers you could see the light blue color. The family who owned it were fairly rich—a look in the garage would have settled any doubts on that—and compared to the house they had moved from this was a four room flat. But there was no doubt they were happier here. There were defense systems, of course. No way to avoid it considering where some of them worked. But it was a happy place. Walking distance from the center of town, but far enough so that the backyard was dark at night. Isolated, but still central. It seemed almost timeless.

Having said so, there was no better place to find the occupant of the third set of rooms to the left on the second floor. The first is a study, and through the open door is a slightly tousled bedroom. Both the rooms are quietly blue, while the bedspread, reading chair, and many of the other things in the room were a much darker shade of blue. The young woman who lived in those rooms had a name for the vibrant color, but few others would understand what it meant. Once everything would have been pink. Of course, she still had plenty of pink, but the blue was reminder, her daily message to herself to hang on.

The woman herself was sitting at a large desk well lit by the panoramic window in front of her. Her hair is bond, and although obviously dyed it suits her very well. She still wears fairly heavy eye makeup—two and a half years living on wealth have not broken her of many of her shop girl habits. Or maybe she had felt that if she changed at all she would be letting down her last hope of ever seeing him again… of course, he was back now. In theory…

She pushed all these thoughts aside as she hovered over the device in front of her. Complicated wiring in unearthly metals, it wouldn't do to mess it up because she was distracted. Torchwood couldn't afford any more broken instruments. The fact that the dimension cannon didn't work anymore was bad enough. She picked up the pair of fine nosed pliars sitting on her right and, holding her breath so as not to let them shake, she mover her hands carefully towards a coupling.

"Rose! Rose, sweetie, will you come and watch Tony for a tick while I go and bring your father his briefcase? He went and forgot it again."

Rose Tyler set down the small pliers she'd been using as she sighed, letting out the breath and leaned back I her chair. Tilting her head back over the chair, she shouted back, "I'm working, Mum!"

"Oh come on sweetheart, I'll only be gone a couple of minutes!"

Rose sighed and pushed her chair back, clumping down the hallway loudly to show her reluctance. "Can't I get any work done here? Or do I need to spend _all_ my nights at my bunk in HQ?"

Jackie Tyler was rooting around in the cabinet under the silverware when Rose got to the kitchen, still clumping.

"You know Rose, I really think they work you too hard over at that place, Torchwood. Have you seen my handbag?" Her voice was slightly muffled by the wood panelings. "Maybe it's over here. I mean really, you'd think they'd give you some time off after you saved creation!"

Rose rolled her eyes, still bouncing Tony. "I didn't save creation, Mum, the Doctor did."

Jackie straitened up holding her purse, tucking some bit of paper in. "Yeah, but you helped, didn't you!" She heads for the door, and calls out over her shoulder before it closes, "Why don't you take Tony for a walk? Don't do you no good, shut up in that hole of yours all day!"

Rose sat down with Tony on her knee, facing her. "Good old mum, always lookin' after us, eh Tony? Come'mon. Let's go find your jacket. It's getting chilly out this time of year."

It really _was_ getting chilly, Rose reflected as she stepped outside with Tony in his buggy. She gave a little shiver. Maybe she should have put that extra coat on, after all. But despite all that, it was looking beautiful. The leaves were just beginning to turn. As she wrapped her scarf one more time around to keep it from blowing around quite so much, Rose couldn't help thinking that there was just one thing missing.

"Park!" Tony laughed in his little kid way and clapped his hands, making Rose smile. She hadn't had much to smile at these last few days. But Tony could always coax one out of her. Tony laughed again and pointed across the park. "'Ake!"

Rose looked up to see a young man with spiky blond hair. "Haven't seen you here in a while, Jake," she called as he headed over towards them.

He looks at her and says in a jokingly outraged way, "I've only been gone two days cleaning up a mess of disabled cybermen they found down south. Where have you been, Rose, stuck out of time?"

She looks back at him and grins, but still with that same feeling of loneliness. "You know how it's been, Jake. I mean, four weeks! That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"No, I don't, Rose. Come on, you know the Doctor! Wherever he is, whatever he's doing, he'll always come back. I haven't known him that long, and even _I_ know that!"

Rose sniffed and looks away. It took a minute for her to speak again, almost as if she were weighing the words. "I know, Jake, I know! But he said we'd never be split up again, and then as soon as we get back home he has to leave!"

"What did he tell you before he left? We all saw him take you to the side, and then you hugged, and then he was just gone. Where did he go, Rose?"

"He told me he had to-" she paused to sniff again "-that he had to go and do one last thing, the last thing that would make sure we really were never split up again. But is it worth it, Jake?" She looks at him in askance. "Is it really worth waiting for him when I never know when he'll run off again?"

Jake looked away, rolling his eyes. This conversation was not a new one. "Rose, how long were looking for him?"

"Over three years…"

"And when, over all that time, did you ever think of anything else?"

"Well, there was that one time we all went skiing…"

Jake laughed. "And you're asking me if he's worth it? Come on, Rose, how much longer can it be? It's been four weeks—that's nothing compared to three years! Come on—let's take Tony and go get cones."

Rose allowed herself to be pulled to her feet and shook her head as if clearing away all of the self-pity. "You're right, Jake. He'll come back when he's ready, and he'll tell me why. And then we'll be together forever."

Jake laughs he starts to push Tony's walker and they walk together towards the exit at the other end of the park. "You are so lucky, Rose."

"Oh, be quiet!"

"No, really. You're so devoted to him. He must be the most incredible man."

"Well duh, Jake Simmonds."

Jake grins. "And he's quite a looker, too, eh?"

Rose nudges him playfully. "Oh, shut up. You'll find someone too, one day."

"Eh."

"You should meet Captain Jack one day, if there's ever another crossing chance." She grins, too. "You two would have gotten on quite well, I think." They both laugh as they turn out of the gate and begin to head down the walk as the zeppelins buzzed overhead.


End file.
